The present invention relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to display screens for electronic devices.
With the increased mobility of today""s workforce, the demand for mobile communications capabilities has also increased. As a result, many portable or xe2x80x9chand-heldxe2x80x9d communications devices may perform a variety of computing and communications functions. For example, in addition to sending and receiving wireless (e.g., radiotelephone) communications, hand-held communications devices can be used for organizing information in calendars and address books, sending and retrieving e-mail, Web browsing, and data-sharing over the Internet, intranet or corporate networks.
Some hand-held communications devices may utilize small, touch-sensitive display screens, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), that are used as input/output devices for various functions and applications. Unfortunately, small touch-sensitive display screens can present challenges to manufacturers and users of hand-held communications devices for several reasons. First, it may be desirable for a user viewing a list of information, such as a telephone list, to view as many entries as possible at a time. For example, using a xe2x80x9cday plannerxe2x80x9d calendar application running within a communications device, it may be desirable for a user to see as many hours of a day and with as much detail as possible. Second, it may be desirable to facilitate user interaction with a touchscreen display by making individual touchable objects, such as buttons and tabs, larger so that they can be more easily touched by a user.
Unfortunately, increasing the amount of information displayed within a small display screen may hinder the goal of making objects more touchable. In order to display more information within a small display screen, interactive objects may need to be reduced in size. Accordingly, there is a need for increasing the amount of information that can be displayed within small touch-sensitive display screens of electronic devices while also improving the xe2x80x9ctouchabilityxe2x80x9d of selected objects.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate increasing the amount of information displayed within small display screens of electronic devices.
It is another object of the present invention to facilitate user interaction with small touch-sensitive display screens.
These and other objects of the present invention are provided by a display screen for a hand-held computing device or other device having a small touch-sensitive display screen wherein one or more movable magnification icons are configured to magnify displayed information and to facilitate user interaction with displayed information. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a magnification icon may incorporate the metaphor of an elongated magnifying bar that extends along a first dimension of a display screen. A control for moving a magnification icon within a display screen in response to user input may be provided as a slider control or other icon displayed within the display screen. Alternatively, a control for moving a magnification icon within a display screen may be provided as a mechanical input device adjacent to the display screen.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, multiple magnification icons may be provided that are movable within a display screen in respective directions.
The present invention can be advantageous because information displayed within small display screens can be read easily without decreasing the amount of information displayed. Furthermore, touch-sensitive display screens incorporating the present invention can make interactive (i.e., touchable) objects easier for a user to interact with, especially small display screens containing a lot of information.